Solving the Beach Wrack Problems by On-Site Treatment with Reed Beds Towards Fertilizer Amendments

Beach wrack is a unique issue. It is both an ecological problem for the eutrophicated reservoirs such as the Baltic Sea and the social one associated with nuisance for inhabitants and tourists visiting seaside resorts. This generates a problem for the institutions responsible for beach management (local authorities). Nowadays local authorities generally leave cleaning the beach to local companies and it is not known how the beach wrack material is utilized. According to the current trend, the nuisance of beach wrack should be turned into a resource that will bring benefits. In order to understand what beach wrack really is, it is necessary to establish a specific definition. The material washed out by the sea contains not only the natural substances of organic origin, but also human products: plastics, glass or metals, which in many cases forces to pre-select before using the technology. Good treatment of material the quantities of which are undefined and the occurrence is variable, constitutes a real challenge. The beach wrack processing on reed bed system, so far used mainly for the treatment of sewage sludge, seems to be a good idea. It is an innovative technology that is expected to have similar results as for the processing of sewage sludge from wastewater treatment, i.e. a high nutrient fertilizer. In accordance with European Union recommendations, the possible use of beach wrack as a fertilizer in agriculture or enrichment of compost, will close the circulation of organic matter in environment, thus entering the reed bed system into a circular economy. Many aspects related to the reed bed system favor the use of this technology in the practical processing of marine organic waste.